As Climate Spectator reports, the number of nuclear reactors in the world is expected to increase by between 90 and 350 units by 2030. Presently there are 432 reactors across the globe. The US, France and Russia have the most reactors.

Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA said yesterday that “Most of the growth is still expected to occur in countries that already have operating nuclear power plants, especially in Asia. China and India will remain the main centres of expansion.”

“It is clear that nuclear prospects in Germany and Japan have been damaged by Fukushima, but the prospects for new reactor build continue to be strong in China, India, Korea and the United Kingdom,” the body said in its nuclear fuel report, which is published every two years and was released on Thursday.

China is forecast to see the strongest growth level, with capacity rising to 136 GW in 2030, 13 times its current capacity.

“A remarkable feature is that work is commencing on third and fourth units at several sites, immediately after the initial two units, with sites anticipated eventually to take six or more reactors,” the WNA said.

“The Chinese program is huge.”

The Japanese earthquake and tsunami have not changed the fundamental facts of life on the planet. Concerns about dwindling supplies of oil and gas, climate change fears, an ever increasing population, and the never-ending demand for electricity is forcing countries to find the best ways of creating clean baseload electricity. And at this juncture, many countries believe that nuclear is still their preferred option.